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Use our free Japanese name converter, phrasebook, Chinese zodiac calculator and era converter — then explore practical guides to Japanese language, culture, food, anime and travel.
Type any first name
CHECKED Hand-checked spellings take priority over automatic rules.
Katakana spelling, pronunciation and hand-checked common names.
Your animal and element, with the Lunar New Year boundary handled.
Useful Japanese by situation, with romaji and literal meaning.
Meiji to Reiwa in both directions, including transition dates.
Your Name in Japanese
Japan did not ban creative baby names. It changed what parents must prove. Since May 26, 2025, a newborn’s registered pronunciation must have a recognizable connection to the kanji chosen for the name.
Japanese Culture
Learn how to pray at a Shinto shrine in Japan in the correct order, from the torii and water basin to the offering, two bows, two claps, and final bow.
Anime & Manga
Light novels are an industry, not simply short books with anime art. Learn how Japanese imprints, illustrations, contests, translations, manga, and anime adaptations fit together.
Japanese Food
Shojin ryori is more than Japanese vegan food. Learn what temple cuisine excludes, how its courses work, where to eat it, and what a Koyasan stay with dinner costs.
Japanese Culture
Torii gates and komainu point toward Shinto; sanmon gates, incense burners, Buddhist images, and cemeteries point toward a temple. Here is a fast test that still works when the two traditions share one site.
Writing & Language
Japanese adults sometimes forget how to handwrite characters they still read and type every day. That gap reveals a practical lesson for learners: recognition and handwritten recall are separate skills.
Japanese Phrases
Konnichiwa is not an all-purpose Japanese hello. The right greeting depends on daylight, your relationship, the setting, and whether a work shift is just beginning.
Japanese Culture
Shinto and Buddhism often appear in Japan as calendar customs rather than declarations of faith. Here is how shrines, temples, New Year visits, funerals, charms, and everyday rituals fit together.
Travel to Japan
The ten major IC cards are interchangeable across the country, so the real choice is where you buy one. Deposits, refunds and the Welcome Suica catch.
Japanese Home
Marie Kondo did not order readers to keep only 30 books, and “spark joy” is an imperfect translation of a Japanese verb. Here is the original KonMari sequence, what you do only once, and which familiar claims came from the television version rather than the method itself.
Japanese language, culture and travel
Japan Know How helps English-speaking readers understand how Japanese names and writing actually work, what to say while travelling, how Japanese era dates convert, and where familiar claims about culture, etiquette, anime and food need more context.
Start with the Japanese name converter, browse the Japanese phrasebook, calculate a Chinese zodiac sign, or convert a date with the Japanese era converter. Every tool is paired with articles that explain the method, exceptions and limits.
